Saturday, January 5, 2013

Duck Gumbo

Every year, there's an event in Stuttgart, Arkansas, where a Duck Gumbo Cookoff takes place. I've never been there, but I've heard a lot about it. This is not the type of duck that you get when you go to Yaya's Euro Bistro or any other upscale establishment serving duck. I once told my friend Kyle, an avid duck hunter, how much I paid for pekin (Long Island) and Fresh Magret duck breasts. His jaw dropped. That was back when I worked in pharmaceutical sales, though. When I earned the income of my company's top 5 percent of the reps in the country. Not there anymore! I'm back to the Simple Life now. So Kyle very generously gave me 18 duck breasts. These are Mallard from Stuttgart.

I checked out Emeril's method of making Duck Gumbo. He's got several recipes for it all over the place. In one recipe, he roasted the duck beforehand. In another, he simmered the duck for an hour or hour and a half. I liked that idea. Then I just made the gumbo the way I always do, except with duck. Also, in place of canned tomatoes, I used fresh. I read in a magazine recently that BPA has adverse effects to your health, so I stay away from it. When I share things like this with my friend Neil, he always says, "We should just all live in a bubble!" Soooo.....

My last batch of duck that I received from Kyle was slightly more gamey than what I usually get from him, so I consulted with Michael Roberts at Arkansas Foodies and Eat Arkansas. He informed me to soak wild game in cold water, and change out the water often to get as much of the blood out as possible. Then I soaked the breasts in buttermilk overnight per his suggestion. Perfect!

Lastly, I didn't serve my gumbo with rice. I decided instead to top it with a healthy serving of crab meat from an economical can that I picked up from the grocery store. Just stir the meat into your gumbo to enhance the flavor. It's how I plan to serve gumbo up from now on!

Who wants a bowl?!

Ingredients:

About 3 lbs. wild duck breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces

Peanut oil

1 package Andouille smoked sausage

1 large white onion, diced

2 bell peppers (any color), diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 garlic cloves

1/3 cup of flour

40 oz. chicken broth

1 lb. frozen chopped okra

1 lb. chopped tomatoes

Creole seasoning

Lousiana hot sauce

Canned crab meat

Chives, for garnish

Directions:

Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat. When hot, add enough peanut oil to lightly cover the bottom.

Add the sausage, and cook until done, stirring often, about 8 minutes.

Add onion, peppers, and celery. Cook until soft. Either mince the garlic or press into the mixture. Stir until fragrant about 3 minutes.

Add the flour, a little at a time. Stir to incorporate. Continue stirring over medium low heat until it looks as brown as you like. Add the duck, stirring well. Add creole seasoning.

Add broth, bring up to a boil, and cover. Simmer about an hour.

At this point, you can add fish sauce like they do at Cook's Country. I love that I discovered this! About a tbsp or 2 will do it!

Add the okra and tomatoes, bring mixture back up to a boil, then simmer again another 30 minutes, covered.

Thank you guys! And Kevin if you want a whole duck sometimes Kroger Marketplace over by us has the Maple Leaf Farms brand, my favorite. Or if you just want boneless duck breast, usually Terry's FIner Foods carries the D'Artagnan brand.

Here's a recipe for that kind of duck: http://www.redkitchenrecipes.com/2012/03/shirataki-noodle-soup-with-duck-breast.html

Any chance you would be willing to make some gumbo for a good cause? Jumbo Gumbo, an annual charity gumbo cook off is looking for new teams this year. The event is on April 5 at the River Market Pavilions. Proceeds benefit The Allen School, a local early-intervention preschool for developmentally disabled children. http://jumbogumbocookoff.com/GUMBO.htmlMy son went to The Allen School for a few years, and I am chairing this year's gumbo cook off. We would LOVE to have you there! Feel free to call or email if interested. 501-301-4824 or jumbogumbocookoff@gmail.com

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About Me

Welcome to the Nguyen and Rasico melting pot! His roots are Sicilian, and I'm Vietnamese. We both grew up in Arkansas, but relocated to Portland, Oregon in 2014. We love all kinds of food. It's fun to write about what you love...and I love to cook. So this blogging thing is the perfect platform - it challenges me to cook good food for my family and friends. It's also great to have a place where I can refer back to recipes any time. We love to cook with ingredients from all around the globe. I worked in French, Mediterranean and Italian restaurants while putting myself through college, and it was fascinating to watch the food get cooked. My TV is always on Food Network. If not, my husband always changes the TV from ESPN to Food Network when he leaves the room for me. Then there are all the cookbooks that I pick up at the library. If they're really good, I actually purchase them from Barnes & Noble, the ultimate bookstore that sells Starbucks Caramel Lattes and comes with a children's section! All the food pictures on my blog were taken by myself, unless I note otherwise. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at thanhrasico@gmail.com. Thanks for coming by...